How can we ensure people across the UK equally enjoy their everyday rights, without discrimination?

Our everyday rights include things like a decent home, enough to eat, a healthy environment, access to quality healthcare and the chance to learn.
International law makes it clear that these rights apply to all of us, equally – no matter our race, colour, sex, language, religion or other status (article 2(2) – of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - ICESCR). This ‘equality’ clause is about ensuring that while we live in an unequal world, our governments and public authorities have duties to remove barriers to our rights so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their potential and fully enjoy their rights.

But is this the reality of experience in the UK? Events like the cost-of-living crisis, or the Covid-19 pandemic lay bare the inequalities that exist across the UK in relation to access to our rights.

The main mechanism we have for trying to tackle inequality is the Equality Act 2010. This Act brought together 116 pieces of anti-discrimination legislation and requires equal treatment in private and public services, and access to employment, for the protected characteristics.

Almost a decade and a half from the Equality Act we brought people together to examine whether it’s up to the task of ensuring people across England, Scotland and Wales can equally enjoy their everyday rights, without discrimination. We also explored the potential that the Equality Act has in its current format, but also thought about what more needs to be done to achieve equality and whether the new UK Government can deliver on its promises.
Speakers include:

Shreya Atrey, University of Oxford
Laura Burgess, Resolve Poverty
Siobhán Harding, Women's Support Network
Helen Flynn, Just Fair

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